Philadelphia 76ers: Sixers drop Bobcats

By CHRISTOPHER A. VITO

Saturday, February 9, 2013

cvito@journalregister.comPHILADELPHIA — A wink at an unexpecting fan is a pretty solid indicator of how Jeremy Pargo’s night went.

Pargo, the guy the Sixers signed this week to a 10-day deal, punctuated a run-of-the-mill layup in a close game with some flair. He finished off a fastbreak bucket in the third quarter at the free-throw line, earning a traditional 3-point play out of his drive — but not before he cast a wink at a fan in the first row.

Quite a debut, huh?Pargo’s contributions throughout the scoresheet seemed to indicate that the Sixers will go to anyone and look in any direction if it means turning around their season. Maybe a 87-76 victory over visiting Charlotte is the start of that revival.

Aside from beating the Bobcats, who have lost all but four of their last 37 games, the Sixers improved to 5-2 on their homestand, which comes to a close Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

For a team looking to build a head of steam heading into the All-Star break, the Sixers (22-27) will take it — even if they couldn’t close the door on these lackluster Bobcats (11-39) until late in the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t just Pargo having a big night, either. Lavoy Allen totaled a career-high 22 rebounds to go with 14 points, becoming the first Sixer since Sam Dalembert Jan. 13, 2010 with at least 20 boards in a game. Allen’s previous career-high rebounding total was 15.

The Sixers took control in the third quarter, behind eight unanswered points out of the gate. That gave them a 46-37 lead, forced the Bobcats to call a timeout and turned the game in the Sixers’ favor for good.

From there, it became a spectacle — a chance for Doug Collins’ youngest players to get some run on the floor and attempt to one-up one another in the process.

Allen had those 22 rebounds, though his catch-and-dunk off Jrue Holiday’s spin through the lane might have been a contribution nearly as strong.

Turner, perhaps miffed about an ESPN.com report that said the Sixers are gauging his trade-market value, had his best game in more than a week. Turner chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds, including two points on a nifty fourth-quarter baseline move, on which he looked dead in the water.

Then there was Pargo, the new kid signed this week. And with more of what he turned in against Charlotte, he’s sure to earn another 10-day deal, if not a commitment through the rest of the season. In one game, Pargo eclipsed what his predecessor accomplished in 20 days here, finishing with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds in 29 minutes off the scrap heap.

And there was that wink, too.Pargo’s night wasn’t done with that third-quarter wink, though. The second-year guard played well with Holiday, giving the All-Star point guard an opportunity to play off the ball. Pargo even earned kudos from Holiday after finding him under the basket on fourth-quarter dish.

For the bulk of the second half, Collins went to a lineup loaded with green players. At one stretch in the third quarter, the Sixers’ five had seven years of NBA experience among them – between Allen, Turner, Pargo, Holiday and Arnett Moultrie.